Hyde Park, NY – Half Moon Theatre presents its 6th annual Ten Minute Play Festival March 11–12 at The Culinary Institute of America’s
beautiful Marriott Pavilion. This year’s theme, The
Tasting Menu, allows audiences to not only see great
plays, but they will be able to taste them too. Eight playwrights were
given a delicious dish to “dish” about, and had come up
with eight delectable Ten Minute Plays to whet the appetites for the pièce de résistance: the actual tasting
menu created by the chefs at the CIA—for audiences to
sample after the show!

On this culinary adventure, patrons will uncover the consequences of
oysters
on the half-shell with a sake glacé in a college library; the truth
behind buttermilk
fried chicken and Weight Watchers; the seedy underbelly of spicy stir
fried lo mein noodles when guarded by a rogue Pastafarian;
and the soul of the whoopie pie at an assisted living
center full of hipsters.

Ten
Minute Play Festival audiences will sample all of the terrific plates featured
in the short plays at a reception directly following performances.

Half Moon Theatre’s company of professional actors and
invited artists participate in this exciting, sophisticated staged reading. The
immediacy of a reading—at which the cast has not memorized the plays and is
performing with minimal costumes and sets—lends a more sophisticated,
Off-Broadway vibe to the evening. The event is also geared towards a more mature audience, with adult humor and situations.

Simpatico and Cloud are the Festival’s curators. Simpatico
says, “This year's theme, The Tasting
Menu, offers both the writers and the audience a two-fold treat: the
writers get to choose a specific dish to somehow feature in their play, and
then the audience gets to actually taste that dish.” Simpatico adds, “The plays themselves offer the audience a wide
variety of style, taste, and character, just as the foods they are writing
about offer a variety of taste, character, and ingredients. The commonly shared
elements of food and human experience intersect in these plays, engaging the
audience even after the play is done.”

Cloud
describes the decision process when choosing the playwrights for the festival.
“We really wanted to focus on the talented pool of local playwrights currently
working with Half Moon Theatre’s Writers Group. Seven of the plays were written
by Hudson Valley residents whose many credits include work in television,
regional theatre, and off- and on-Broadway,” Cloud says. “Each writer came up
with a wildly different take on their cuisine. This has broadened our diversity
and created a really exciting evening in which people might ‘taste’ a bit of
every kind of perspective.”

Kristy
Grimes, managing director of Half Moon Theatre says, “This immersive theatrical
and culinary experience capitalizes on the unique nature of our partnership
with The Culinary Institute of America. The incomparable chefs of the CIA have developed
a special menu of culinary creations—which in turn inspired our playwrights.”

Performances are at the beautiful Marriott Pavilion at The
Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Tickets may be
purchased at halfmoontheatre.org or by calling 1-800-838-3006.
For pre-theatre dining at The Culinary Institute of America, please call
845-905-4533 to make your reservations.

Photo Caption and Hi-Res Image:

Part of the cast of 2015 Half Moon
Theatre's Ten Minute Play Festival at The Culinary Institute of America. (Photo credit: Jennifer Kiaba)View hi-res image >

Media Contact:

Kristy Grimes
Half Moon Theatre
845-625-3047info@halfmoontheatre.org

Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier
culinary college. Dedicated to driving leadership development for the
foodservice and hospitality industry, the independent, not-for-profit CIA
offers associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts;
bachelor’s degree majors in management, culinary science, and applied food
studies; and executive education through its Food Business School. Its
conferences and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank of the
food industry in the areas of health & wellness, sustainability, world
cuisines & cultures, and professional excellence & innovation. The
college also offers certificate programs and courses for professionals and
enthusiasts. Its worldwide network of 48,000 alumni includes leaders in every
area of foodservice and hospitality. The CIA has campuses in New York,
California, Texas, and Singapore.